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I am deeply thankful to the late Dave Fish. He took me on a surf outing to Mapuzi near Coffee Bay. I had the pleasure of catching a few waves with Meyrick Stockigt and the outing rests joyfully in my memories.
Mapuzi is a short trip north east of Coffee Bay and the road is not exactly a signposted highway. The geography is unique, but mind you, backpacker Coffee Shack owner operator David Malherbe says the entire Wild Coast geography is perfectly unique which is why Shell Oil's destructive seismic survey is such a horrible idea. Mapuzi is a right-breaking wave at the river mouth functional on a spring low tide with a light west wind blowing.
I happened to be staying over at the Ocean View Hotel for the Mtata River Grunter hunt and what a truck load of fun that was. Sunday just past came up as a day unscripted and unplanned and open for whatever escape fell in our laps, and then the trip home.
Best kob fisherman of the event Steve Scheepers (70cm) was chatting with hotel manager Alex who mentioned the Mapuzi caves. Steve had recently seen a video documentary and was intrigued. We were all in for a walk to Mapuzi caves.
Rural legend has it that Nelson Mandela may have hidden out in the caves once upon a time when he was evading the Special Branch.
Local fantastic talent, nguni artist extraordinaire Msa Xokelelo warned us that the path was treacherous and because of overnight rain there was potential to slip and we should give the idea a miss.
The sun came out and we decided to go take a look at how tough the path really was. I warn you that if you are not as sure-footed as a mountain goat and if you are afraid of heights, this path is not for you. The path is not an official tourist destination.
It is unmarked and fiercely steep, slippery with crumbled shale and mud and no guard or safety rail of any sort. A tumble here to an early demise is an easy event. We picked our way carefully along as the fresh sun on the warm and windstill cliffs had dried the track enough to invite us to the beautiful seascape. As you face the sea on this path, the “sugarloaf” of Mapuzi is about a kilometre or two to your right. Our descent was on the Durban side of Mapuzi river mouth. Bait balls glistened on the glassy ocean to herald potentially fantastic fishing.
The flat rocks at the bottom of the cliffs are only passable at spring low tide. Sea life in the ponds is a colourful delight. We took the short walk north east and came upon the caves. The biggest and deepest cave is above the surf line and you are safe but locked in once the tide comes in.
It would appear that flat slabs of shale regularly exfoliate from the roof as the floor is littered with a deep angular jumble that is quite uncomfortable to walk on. The billions of shale “tiles” are easy to write on with a sharp pointed stone and many travellers have enscribed their names on a tile and popped their plaque on a shelf at the entry to the main cave.
These mementos are as transient as are visitors, and ecologically inoffensive. The main cave is home to bats. Mouldy, dusty and in all truth inhospitable but a wonder of natural geography. A concrete block high above the cave once housed a pulley system for extracting guano fertiliser.
We took a wild, clean warm water skinny dip in an exotic pond close by and then kitted up and made the steep scramble up to the top again.
The view of the coastline from the top of the cliffs is a spectacle to behold. Tiny Mapuzi beach down at the river mouth begs me for another visit.
One day when the stars align right, I hope to do some deep sea fishing in the area. Just to the south west of the river mouth, in front of the sugar loaf, the water is deep and dangerous but very good for fishing. Spearfishermen, crazy lot that they are, report good catches, but shark encounter is near 100% guaranteed and you need nerves of steel to defend and demand your catch.
It is not called the wild coast for nothing. This area is not quickly tamed and nor should it be, or spoiled by seismic survey or depletion of any sort.
Who would want it any other way? My gratitude to Dave Fish, and Eric Scheepers' “let's go take a look anyway”. What an adventure!
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